Degrassi Season 14 Brainstorming Under Way

It’s so strange to think that we’re not even halfway through season 13, yet it’s that time of year where the writers begin brainstorming for the next season. As the writers begin tossing out ideas for season 14, Stephen Stohn has taken to twitter again to receive input from fans. To be blunt, some of the replies fans on twitter have sent him suck. Maybe it’s because I’m becoming a grumpy old man, but while reading through them there were too many responses for my taste that were:

1) sarcastic and unhelpful
2) unviable, or
3) fans have used the situation to deliver passive aggressive jabs about past things on the show.

Given the fact that season 13 as a whole has been disappointing and the fanbase has been quite vocal about its overall shittiness, you’d think that we’d take the show’s open invitation for input just a bit more seriously this time around (regardless of whether they use some, all or none of the ideas we suggest). No, they aren’t bringing back Cam, Adam or any old TNG characters. Also, they’re clearly not going to have a character kill himself or herself in the near future because of (insert reason or disorder here).

In regards to my own ideas I’ll get to those later (they haven’t really changed much from last year), but for now I want to look at some of the common and interesting ideas other fans have thrown out there.

Fan Ideas for Degrassi Season 14

Relationships

Lol, good luck with that. Relationship drama has been a staple of this show for God knows how long. Fans say they hate relationship drama on the show, yet ships drive so much of the fandom’s interaction. And when girls in the Degrassi fandom aren’t talking about ships, so many of them are busy swooning over every cute celebrity boy in sight. The show sees that, therefore they see no reason to stop jamming relationship drama down our throats. I’ve said before that relationship drama itself isn’t the issue, the quality of it is. All we can ask from the show is that they give us relationship stuff worth watching, and not these nonsensical love triangles and squares that sacrifice main female characters’ redeeming qualities for the sake of some boy.

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Mental Disorders

@stephenstohn I think another eating disorder storyline, schitzophrenia, any type of relapse, or anxiety would be great!

It’s safe to say that Schizophrenia, anxiety and OCD are the disorders people desire to see the most. There are two things to consider: the short term and long term. All of these provide an opportunity to create great short-term story archs, but how do they expand them in a way to keep the storyline interesting without becoming repetitive, and consistently represent the disorder without having to build a big plot around it every time?

For example, let’s say we find out this season that Miles has Schizophrenia. When a storyline isn’t about him, when he’s just a support character or something in seasons 14 and 15, how does the show tread the line of not being hardcore in reminding us Miles has Schizophrenia when he’s on screen (so that we don’t just see him as “that guy with Schizophrenia”), yet not pushing it to the backburner to the point where it feels like the show has forgotten he’s dealing with it?

It’s not so much Schizophrenia and OCD that I worry about, it’s the anxiety, which I’m guessing is a far more common issue within the fanbase in general. Even as someone who deals with anxiety every day I’d be excited for the show to have another character who also deals with it, but I also question how they’d be able to incorporate it into a character’s daily existence without it feeling repetitive or being extreme. I don’t suffer from depression, but like anxiety that’s one storyline idea I also worry about in terms of long-term portrayal.

I also love the ideas of Down Syndrome (they’d need to bring in an actor with Down Syndrome for this) and Trichotillomania.

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Other Ideas

I wanted to point out this tweet because it’s partly true, but at the same time partly exaggerated. It’s true Degrassi can be hit or miss with certain problems that characters face, trouble happening one moment, then later down the road it feels like none of it ever happened. But I do need to defend Degrassi’s expansion of plots here. The reboot in season 10 not only increased the number of episodes per season, it increased the amount of time the show could devote to various storylines, going beyond what the show was capable of doing in seasons 1-9. Whether we’ve liked the plots or not, seasons 10-13 have all contained multiple storylines and character archs that have extended far beyond just a handful of episodes.

Season 13 so far has basically been composed of nothing but long-running archs: Alli/Leo, the Tenner drama (with various plots within itself) and Clare’s cancer. And even if it’s only been dealt with occasionally, the issues Eclare are facing with having a long-distance relationship look like they’ll be around until the end of the season.

It’s very disappointing that the climax of Clare’s cancer happened so quickly. I agree that it would’ve been nice to see Clare dealing with that specific aspect of her cancer longer. However, the show has made the effort to explore post-remission life with Clare (whether it continues is TBD), instead of her suddenly being in remission and life immediately going back to normal like it did with Spinner. I will say that the idea of ailments lasting longer does correlate with one of the ideas I had last year that I still want to see: a road to recovery storyline (see below in my idea section).

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@stephenstohn How about developing Zoë so she can finally adjust to the "real world"?

There’s nothing to worry about with Zoë. The thing to remember here is that Zoë is a new character, and has only been around for 14 episodes at the time of me writing this. Characters are brought onto the show as strong “types,” but they eventually “level out.” At some point the show will develop her beyond a diva with petty tendencies because they have to (they can’t rely on the current senior girls forever, and they’ll need another girl in the mix besides Maya).

Whaaaaaaat? A storyline idea that’s simple and has nothing to do with relationships or heavy personal issues? That’s crazy talk, man.

It’s also a storyline that would be nice to see. And no we’re not talking about having a character work at a mall kiosk, making so much money they can afford to drop out of school, live in an apartment and buy a fancy 3D TV.

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@stephenstohn someone with no friends. A christian made fun of their values. A mentally disabled student everyone makes fun of.

Yes. It doesn’t even need to result in someone getting beat up every day or the entire school taking part, but bullying is a storyline idea that can be repeated many times because anyone can be bullied for any reason.

Failing Student
For a TV show in which the school is the central figure, Degrassi puts very little focus on schoolwork, unless of course it’s needed as a plot device (characters getting ready for college, etc). When characters are held back it’s not because they have trouble comprehending the material, it’s because outside circumstances have forced them to miss significant time and they fall behind. The handful of scenes where we saw Campbell Saunders doing schoolwork in season 12 were brilliant, because he was legitimately struggling. In my head I see a long running arch of a character who struggles at school, either one who barely scrapes by or eventually becomes so overwhelmed that they feel like they have no choice but to drop out of school.

A Firm Antagonist
As I said above in my response to the tweet about Zoë, characters are introduced as a certain type of character, but wind up “leveling out” character wise (ex: Holly J was an over-the-top queen bee at first, but eventually became a well-rounded character we could love and sympathize with). Fans like and dislike characters, but ultimately I think the show aims to make main characters people who are likable, yet make stupid mistakes. But what if we had a character who was an asshole from beginning to end? Something along the lines of a troubled kid who shows no remorse for their terrible actions toward other people. We may see their home life and it’s horrid, and we may even root for them to succeed after seeing that, but ultimately they’re a lost cause because they just don’t care about becoming a better person.

Relationship Destroys A Friendship
Have you ever had a friend that started dating someone, and suddenly you’re annoyed because their relationship takes an absurd precedence over your friendship? What if you and your friend’s new “love” don’t like each other? What happens if this places a strain on your friendship, and your friend is placed in a situation where they have to choose between you or the person they’re dating? What if they choose their bf/gf over you? Friendships are silently greater than romantic relationships on Degrassi. There are multiple instances throughout the years where friendships broke down or drifted apart, but they eventually reconciled. I want to see a strong friendship have a gradual meltdown that’s beyond repair.

Traveling A Road To Recovery
If Adam had survived his car crash, his situation would’ve been great for a road to recovery storyline…someone who’s physically injured, and must endure tough physical and mental challenges just to get back to where they were before their accident.

Improper Student/Teacher Relationship
It can go multiple ways: they can revisit the route of it being a consensual relationship, or the kind where the teacher uses their charm and power over a young, naive character.

Peer Pressure Variations. Someone pressured into…
*engaging in illegal activity such as drinking, stealing, etc
*cheating
*keeping a big secret for a friend or family member
*sexual activity

The latter leads me into…

A Character Who Says No To Sex.
Months ago someone sent me a tumblr message saying they were bothered by the way Christians are portrayed on Degrassi. One of the issues was the fact that some of the characters broke their vow to remain a virgin until marriage, aka Darcy and Clare. I wrote a long response (you can read it here), but basically I wanted to point out that Darcy and Clare didn’t just up and change their minds on a whim just because they can, as if they’d decided to get a pizza instead of chinese food for dinner. Their specific situations caused drastic changes in their views, and when life forces you to question those views it’s not far fetched to believe people can change their mind about things (Darcy was emotionally fucked up when she slept with Peter, so she gets a pass in my book. Clare’s willingness to have sex before marriage “with someone she loved” was a result of her parents’ divorce…she now questioned all of the values they’d instilled in her because her parents essentially weren’t able to practice what they preached to her in some aspects).

The point of all this is to ask what if they were to exclude those life-altering events in regards to love and sex, and just have a character whose beliefs about abstinence remained unhinged? What happens if you’re a virgin and want to remain so, but you wind up in a relationship with someone who wants to have sex, and tries to pressure you into it (causing tension in the relationship)? There are multiple messages that could be sent with a storyline like that, and it’d be an interesting dynamic to present to young viewers on multiple fronts.

A Character Suffers A Relapse
This would be a long-term story arch taking over the course of a couple of seasons, involving a character with a dangerous habit (drugs, alcohol, or something the first thing that thought in my head when I thought of this idea…self harm). There’s the process of having the issue brought up and a breaking point is reached before they finally get the help they need. But instead of them being magically cured, during the recovery or later down the road they encounter a negative element that sends them spiraling down, back into the arms of their old coping mechanism.

Posted by Kary

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technically they have acknowledged a situation in which a couple has two opposing views on sex where one has no interest in engaging in it, specifically Connor and Jenna. I’d definitely like to see it span out a bit more because it is an interesting dynamic.

Like Stephen Stohn is actually going to listen to anyone’s advice for next season. Yeah I have a thought: start treating your show seriously by not dragging out storylines and actually have some quality plots.

The gay guy having trouble telling his parents and classmates he is gay has happened twice on degrassi (marco, riley) but i would like to see how it works with a girl in a conservative family and girl friends who ignore the fact she is a lesbian.

Here are my suggestions for Degrassi Season 14:
• A character with same sex parents ( gay parents or lesbian parents) and a same sex marriage. Let the next marriage be a twist

• Biphobia. I am bisexual and it still has a lot of stigma from both sides of the spectrum: Straight and Gay. There are a lot of misconceptions and myths surrounding such a topic such as you’re just confused, you’re a slut and the worst one it doesn’t exist. We often have to hide our sexuality or pretend we are gay or straight in order to avoid hate. I would like to see a character who is bi from the start having to deal with coming out.

• A character who has psychopathy/sociopathy but is a non-criminal one. You could deal with assumptions and judgements. It would be really interesting to watch.

• A character who has brain damage. We haven’t had one since Shane McKay

• A character who crosses the train tracks and gets hit. Seeing as we have had two deaths already I would suggest the person end up in a wheelchair or with brain damage which could work with the above suggestion.

It’d be really interesting seeing a character struggle with sociopathy or some kind of personality disorder. (Though, I don’t think kids or teens can actually be diagnosed with it.) It would work well with a ‘firm antagonist’ character. They don’t have to be evil, but they could struggle with their lack of a normal moral code. They could come from a broken home where they didn’t get the love or attention as a baby/child/adolescent. You’d want to root for them to get better, but in the end it’s only something you can manage, not change.

1. A Male Bisexual character…Never been done and it would be a new take on the LGBT character for the show. Someone who is downlow and doesn’t want people to know he likes guys and what not.

2. Speaking of LGBT, start showing our characters such as Tristian in relationships that aren’t treated secondary…Riley/zane and Marco/Dylan were good examples of relationships but they weren’t given a lot of attention compared to other relationships at that time on the show.

3. A Male Abuse victim….like a male rape victim or something. Teen males are being raped and sexually assaulted, it be cool to see what Degrassi could do with this character storyline.

4. Becky & Luke’s storylines have been so weak because they are supposed to come from this religious family and I would love to have seen more of their religion being a direct conflict to things without it coming off as attacking them for being Christian.

5. Cross-dressers? That too does happen, and at an early age.

6. More focus on families…Yes, it is a high school but on many other High School shows, we get to see the families more and even on Early degrassi focus was put on families a lot more than it is now. It will definitely take away from the annoying “Boyfriend stealer” plots and that is a good thing.

1. A Male Bisexual character…Never been done and it would be a new take on the LGBT character for the show. Someone who is downlow and doesn’t want people to know he likes guys and what not.

2. Speaking of LGBT, start showing our characters such as Tristian in relationships that aren’t treated secondary…Riley/zane and Marco/Dylan were good examples of relationships but they weren’t given a lot of attention compared to other relationships at that time on the show.

3. A Male Abuse victim….like a male rape victim or something. Teen males are being raped and sexually assaulted, it be cool to see what Degrassi could do with this character storyline.

4. Becky & Luke’s storylines have been so weak because they are supposed to come from this religious family and I would love to have seen more of their religion being a direct conflict to things without it coming off as attacking them for being Christian.

5. Cross-dressers? That too does happen, and at an early age.

6. More focus on families…Yes, it is a high school but on many other High School shows, we get to see the families more and even on Early degrassi focus was put on families a lot more than it is now. It will definitely take away from the annoying “Boyfriend stealer” plots and that is a good thing.

-more non-white characters. Ideally, I’d love to see two characters of colour for every two caucasian characters.

-a Muslim female who wear a hijab, and doesn’t “rebel” at some point. I’d like to see her integrated into the main cast without having to teach the audience a lesson in tolerance or whatever. Just a likeable character who happens to be Muslim, whose religion isn’t made into a big deal.

-some more focus on characters’ backgrounds and cultures. We don’t need to be beaten over the heads with them, but some references to characters’ ethnicities and upbringings would give them and their families some texture and depth. It was nice to hear Mrs. Novak speaking Russian to Zig in season 12, because it made them feel like a family with actual roots, who were bound to another culture by more than a last name. Toronto’s such a multicultural city, and it’s sad that Degrassi does so little to represent that.

-teacher giving preferential treatment to white students.

-a lesbian character who is not conventionally feminine.

-a lesbian character struggling with her sexuality.

-character finds out that his/her father had a child with another woman, and said child begins attending Degrassi.

-character finds out that one of his or her parents is gay. Unlike Ashley finding out about her dad well after her parents’ divorce, I’d like to see the child find out themselves after catching his or her parent having an affair with someone of the same sex.

-an adopted character who goes on a quest to find his or her biological parents.

It’s been touched on, but regardless of the subject matter, I would like to see them get away from the A_B_C plots in each episode. I would like long arcs that would span an entire season. Sure, they can still have concurrent situations within the episodes, but what has held DeGrassi back from actually attracting more viewers is the brevity of their stories. Although not completely true, viewers see DeGrassi as a place where you can be born, die, and be buried, in 60 minutes.

It’s the way they write, the way they edit, and the way it’s portrayed. It always feels rushed, regardless of the subject. The current season is a prime example of how with the current system, they are running out of gas. I’m not saying that they aren’t experts at what they do, at all. I’m saying that audiences evolve and good shows need to change with them.

I could give examples of well done shows, but I can’t think of too many that change the way they do things and still survive. Basically because most of the time shows do what they do till they are canceled or throw in the towel.

This is the first series that I actually have a back-log of episodes to watch on the DVR. I’ll watch them, but no longer is it something I want to see live or ASAP. It’s just not that good this year. I hope Stohn is looking for more than ideas. It’s obvious that this franchise has been his golden egg. They’re not alone, but DeGrassi is one of those shows who pay scale and have to turn away people from auditioning. Read about what some of the favorite characters of the show were paid the last year of their contracts. Good, bad, or indifferent, this show is an opportunity for the cast. We all know who’s making the money. So maybe they will change the format going forward?

Honestly, the biggest and most important thing to me? If they introduce a character who is gay/bi/intersex/abuse victim/rape victim/other minority and under represented societal ‘statistic’ they do it in a way that their gender/orientation/race/class/creed/religion is not their primary character point.

Barring how plots treated him, Riley was a breath of fresh air because he was “A football jock… who happened to be gay” and I wish that the focus of his every plot after he was outed in Season 8 wasn’t entirely about his orientation (there were a few, like his worry that he wasn’t the kind of guy Zane wanted because he wasn’t stereotypically gay enough). Similarly Imogen and Fiona had a lot of arcs and character building outside of orientation.

Tristan however was Tori’s “Gay best friend” and while his writing was pretty good for not focusing his every plot on his orientation, it still comes across as that being his primary character point. Adam, similarly, started out with more aspects to his character, but almost every plot of his came down to his being ftm.

So while I would love more characters showing more diverse identities on the show, I don’t want them to end up shoehorned into a role by a singular trait.

With Zoe I’d like to see them portray the dark side of the entertainment industry, having to sleep with someone for a role and stuff like that.

More in-depth portrayal of anorexia/bulimia.

Drunk driving accident. Due to all the recent deaths no one gets killed but the driver of the car faces jail time.

Someone contracting a STD they can’t cure like HPV, Hepatitis B, HIV, Herpes etc. and the character deals with how this impacts their future sex life and/or health.

Infertility. One of the characters finds out the chances of them having children when they are older are slim to none.

Teen marriage- this one might have to wait a season or two because of character ages but eventually I’d like to see 2 teenagers rush into a marriage and have the responsibility of bills, school, work, etc. forced upon them.

I’d love to see an infertility plot. I remember there was one on the show Skins and it really stuck with me. The girl thought she was pregnant and went to the gynecologist, but she found out she couldn’t have children at all. It was really sad!

A character that was born from a rape victim that feels guilty or unloved (directly or indirectly) by his/her mother (who may or may not have attempted suicide or had a substance abuse problem because of the rape) and/or family. The rapist returns trying to get custody or denies the accusations.

A female or male character that was sexually abused by a parent or family member and either wasn’t believed or kept it a secret. He/she is trying to cope either through therapy or some other means, trying to deal with trust and have normal friendships instead of keeping to him/herself, and finally the abuser returning back into their life.

Luke: Dating a girl that has same sex parents or an atheist and he’s conflicted about wanting to fight for the relationship and his parents’ disapproval. He’s been there longer than Miles, Zoe and Winston but remains very underdeveloped.

A character that was abandoned by a parent or both parents as a child or teen that now wants to become part of their life. He or she grew up in foster homes and may or may not have been abused, developed a substance abuse problem, or trust issues.

A character that grew up in a racist or homophobic home and eventually develops either friendships and/or a relationship with someone his or her parent strongly disagrees with. Maybe the family is part of a radical hate group that’s aggressive or violent.

Maybe Luke could date a Muslim girl. They’d both be strongly religious, unwilling to compromise either of their personal beliefs, but they try to make it work. It’d also be interesting to see family reaction to that.

Luke has a lot of potential to be a good character, but has hardly had any screen time aside from pining after Jenna and being a general ass on the Ice Hounds. I’d love to see more, especially since he’s the captain of the team now.

I think a plot of shoplifting would be interesting. Zig did mention damion was a clepto.

I would like to also see more of a set social quo. It sorta seems to me that all of a sudden everyone is friends with each other and there is no such thing as cliques anymore. No more of this Tristian and jocks stuff.

Lastly, and this may seem random, but child abduction. we hear about it all the time. it happened to my aunt and my siblings. something that could happen anytime to anyone. probably more soup opera but hey at least it would be shaking things up

Yes to a social status quo! As nice as it is to see that everyone gets along, it isn’t realistic to have everyone be friends with everyone. There’s no way a kid like Tristan would be so easily accepted among the jocks.

In a lot of high schools these days I don’t think popularity and status are so cut and dry. In my school there wasn’t even one group who were the ‘popular’ ones. There were tons of groups, but they intermingled a lot and the ones who were considered popular were the most outgoing. There weren’t many mean girls or guys or bullies and the ones who were weren’t well liked. I’d like to think (or hope) other schools are like that now as well!

I agree with Maree. My high school is so big that there isn’t really a social status quo or cliques or anything. People have their groups of friends but nobody really cares about popularity or anything. Most of us don’t even know everyone in our grade so why should we care about their status?

That would be nice if the shows premisis was to focus on one social group in high school. It suppose to extract it from all social standpoints. I dont care how much you think you r school gets along, people are too different. There will always be the popular kids , the sporty kids the gamer kids the music kids etc etc. I am not saying that they cant get along I am saying that it is highly unrealistic for a kid such as tristian to get in shape between seasons and make it on the bball team as a walk on. It might have been a different story if we saw him train all summer but obviously he was in paris with maya

I agree with Carrie – I miss Zig. They went to so much trouble to get he and Maya close to being together last season, then dropped the ball this season. I’m not thrilled by the prospect of him as a drug dealer or bad boy. I’d rather see him in a triangle with Maya and Miles, where she has trouble choosing between them because they’re both great guys, than him on a downward spiral. I mean – he liked Maya for who she was. Does Miles? Maya didn’t have to sacrifice who she was to impress Zig. I’m tired of seeing girls lose themselves in guys on this show – its sad and unrealistic. In a real relationship, with real love, you don’t have to change anything about yourself – the other person helps you to be a better person, and you do the same for them. It’d be nice to see a healthy, genuine relationship on he show once in a while. We got that a couple of times with Dolly J and EClare, but the writers ruined it.
I really like the mental disability/illness idea…I also think it’d be interesting to see someone who, like Cam, isn’t some big social butterfly, but rather painfully shy. Shyness can be just as debilitating and lonely as a mental illness – and not everyone can or wants to be the life of the party. It would interesting to see them navigate school, making friends, overcoming their shyness.
I also think it would be interesting to see Christianity from someone who is firm but not obnoxious in their beliefs. I’m from Louisiana, and most of the serious Christians I know, including myself, behave nothing like the ones on Degrassi. It’d be nice to see a Christian who is comfortable in their own skin, walking the walk and talking the talk without making some huge deal about it. Where its just part of who they are and influences everything they do, but it isn’t the main defining attribute of the character. And it would be nice to see the show do their homework about Christianity, instead of sticking to an outdated stereotype of biblethumping. After all – Christians are human too, and they do have interests and lives outside of church. None of the ones on the show truly seem to have that – where they balance faith and life at the same time.

I’d like to see them handle polygamy, I think that would be interesting. Whether a student is in a polygamous relationship or their parents have one. I’d also like to see them have an overweight main character and tackle body dysmorphia.

I love all the ideas above. The emphasis seems to be on characters of colour, and I cannot agree more. We need more PoC on Degrassi. I love that we have Dallas, Alli, Winston, etc. but they are still in the minority. There are so many white power couples on this show and that needs to change IMO.

If the current seniors are graduating in Season 14, I want Connor to be valedictorian. That could be a potentially interesting storyline. If not him, then Alli and Clare should compete over the title, only for Alli to win. Of course, this is probably just wishful thinking, since we all know that Mary Sue Clare will be valedictorian.

The plot I’d really like to see is an extended eating disorder plot with one or multiple relapses. All the ED plots they’ve done have been brought up for one episode (two at most) and then were dropped and never mentioned again.

Toby was flirting with bulimia for one episode. Emma had a powerful ED episode, but it was solved in a two parter and the only other times it was even eluded to was when she was a model for a second and felt self conscious, and when Sean came back and she picked up knitting. Normally they are not that easy to fix and they have a HIGH relapse rate. Katie’s bulimia was brought up as a side issue in an election episode and was never brought up again. Even with Tristan, they gave him problematic eating and dieting that ended in a heart attack, but then off camera he gets thin and never mentions his heart problem or eating issues again. They never show these characters in therapy or struggling or mention they got help beyond a quick hospital stay to fix the physical health scare.

In Black and White when Tristan stared at the donut, but wouldn’t eat it, that would have been a good time to address his previous ED or have him continue struggling with over or under eating because of stress or sadness. Instead they make it seem like once you lose weight (the healthy way? Do we know how he lost weight?) you can never treat yourself or enjoy anything but health food again. The writers don’t have it come across as problematic behavior or orthorexia or unhealthy in any way, they make it seem normal, as if one donut or slip will actually make Tristan fat again and have another character encourage him.

I’d just like to see one character with an eating disorder (anorexia, bulimia, ednos, bed, anything) who actually deals with it in multiple plots, relapses, or just doesn’t magically get better because of one health scare/serious talk with a friend.

I think Tristan would be the perfect character for an eating disorder in the future. I remember in a past episode as well he mentioned he wont eat anything over 400 calories. Maybe they’re setting that up for later.

Im almost 17 and have struggled with severe ocd for 5 years since I hit puberty(at 11 1/2 years old) and have always wanted them to do a story on it cause it’s one of the disorders people know the least about which has been really difficult for me. The only thing is if they’re going to make the person have contamination ocd I strongly don’t want them to do it because that’s like the only form people know of and is why people make fun of it cause they think that’s all it is. That’s only one type of compulsion and obsession out of thousands! So yea I honestly feel like they could do so much with it as a storyline not just with what people see on the outside(the compulsions) but also what we have to suffer with every single day in our heads(the obsessions). I know that I personally would be forever grateful if they did that cause it would mean people actually having some understanding of me.

I would love to see a Deaf/Hard of Hearing character on the show. Would shake things up a little similar to “Switched at Birth”. Perhaps they can get a character with hearing aids since birth or a normal character who later loses his/her hearing and gets a “fix”, only to find out it isn’t 100% curable

I think they should do a true bullying plot where EVERYONE bullies this person and those who don’t actively bullie him want nothing to do with him. (meaning the main characters are bullying too) Common we’ve ALL participated in bullying whether this be directly or indirectly. The plot should show how this person deals

1. Change the opening back. it doesn’t feel like degrassi anymore and I don’t like that.
2. enough of these cheesy storylines. they need to revisit campbells suicide and I have a good storyline idea. here it is. Maya has to revisit the trauma of losing cam when campbells parents get in contact with her requesting to know how he was acting in the days before his suicide. zoe notices maya is acting different and maya has a meltdown and her new friends find out about what happened last year.
3. a school lockdown. an intruder in the school has sent the school into lockdown by carrying a concealed weapon. maya and zoe are stuck hiding in the stalls of the girls bathroom. the rest of degrassi hides. alli is afraid because leo may be the one the whole school is fearing. nobody gets hurt but alli is the only one who knows who the intruder was and this could be a good story arc where she is terrified to tell anyone it’s leo because he is still after her.
4. a hit and run involving zig sends him on a path back to maya.
5. just more ideas about things besides love triangles

1) The show should add a deaf person on the show, similar to the TV series “Switched At Birth”, the students will learn some ASL, even though that said person gets bullied constantly for his deformity.

2) Maybe add an American/other character. (Even though it’s for Canada Citizens…blahblahblah) It doesn’t seem far that the show is ONLY for Canadians when everybody everywhere are citizens too.

3) Due to all the stress and trying to keep up with school, Clare starts to have anxiety attacks often (sort of like Eli) and goes all crazy (Biploar) She starts to fail in school.

4) Connor and Jenna’s relationship starts to get intimate but Jenna soon ends up pregnant and decides whether to tell Connor or not.
AU: Jenna gets an abortion (doesn’t want to go through what she had with KC and Ty) and Connor soon finds out, and the two split [but soon find themselves back way up ;)]

5) After a night during a party, there was a serial rapist (like Darcy’s) who slips a pill into a certain girl’s drink. That girl is Zoe. A few days or weeks later she finds out and starts to cut.

6) Everyone finds out about Zoe and tries to help her, but she doesn’t want any. She comes across someone and soon befriends them (Clare).

7) Alli and Dallas are together! Despite the fact that he has a son, Alli still tries to make it work, even though she sort of becomes the babysitter (or step-mom LOL)

8) Maya and Miles break up due to the fact that they are growing apart and…they like other people??

9) Miles and Tristan? Miles soon has feelings for his best friend and thinks about being with him, even though his dad wouldn’t approve and he is abusive. His sister, Frankie, keeps telling him to follow his heart and be with Tristan and keep it a secret from their dad.

9) Drew and Clare get together and he tries to help his girlfriend with her stress and school work, but will he succeed?

10) What happens when Eli and Bianca come back to Canada? Is it for vacation or to reunite with an old flame?

11) A new student!! Tabatha Green!! The spoiled brat who is tired of being judged and wants to let loose. She soon finds someone, Luke, and will do anything she can to make him hers, even if it’s worth losing her virginity. But after months of being together, Luke says no?

12) Clare drives to school but she is tired and feels dizzy and is unaware of a truck heading her way!! She makes it out alive, but some of her memory is lost.

13) Drew tries to help Clare remember along with her friends, but it’s very difficult. She gets held back, but Drew is willing to stay at Degrassi another year to be with her.

14) Becky and Imogen. Former rivals, best friends, and mutual attraction? Becky is over Adam and wants to find someone else, but is it Imogen, the girl she is friends with and despises for her fling with Adam? IMOGECKY!!

15) Winston is not that ‘nerdy’ anymore, but he is being cyberbullied…

1. Change the opening. I’m not liking the new one, the old one is way better and more creative. You add too much editing-technology to the opening and it just makes the writers and editors seem lazy.
2. No more cheesiness!
3. Maybe add some old characters back on the show such as Miriam McDonald (Emma Nelson) Adamo Ruggerio (Marco Del Rossi) Shane Kippel (Spinner) Stacey Farber (Ellie Nash). Maybe they could work at Degrassi now and became a teacher, or a counsellor, or maybe working at The Dot.
4. Add more drama! Maybe Cam didn’t commit suicide! Maybe someone killed him and made everyone think that he killed himself.
5. Old friends and family visits. Almost like a reunion! Add Shenae Grimes (Darcy Edwards) so her and her ‘sister’ can have a little talk…
6. Another school lockdown. Ever since Maya has joined a gang, she started getting involved with drug dealing along with Zig. He tries to convince her to stay out of it, but she’ll do anything to improve her ‘image’. But one of the members arrives at the school with a weapon. Hopefully the students will make it out alive, or one might die?
7. Is there another thing behind Zoe’s hatred for Maya? Or is it the fact that Zoe thinks that Maya is the cause of her dead cousin, Campbell Saunders.
8. What’s this? Bianca and Eli are back? Is it for a vacation? Or to reunite with their loved ones. Bianca tries to get back with Drew and Eli wants Clare back. But does the Clew couple want anything to do with them? Hm…
9. Cyberbullying? Cutting? Bipolar Disorder? OCD? New Students?
10. Rape or sexual abuse? Is Frankie and Miles’s father more than just an oppressive man? What if Frankie is being abused at home and Miles’s wants to find out what’s wrong with her?
11. Becky and Imogen begin to grow feelings for each other. GASP!!

Is there a reason why Degrassi refuses to do another college season. it seems like a good way to extend peoples favourite characters life on the show as well as make some more “Adult” storylines that haven’t been done since the Marco and Ellie days

The previous college years weren’t very well received…the Marco/Ellie/Paige era was decent, but when Emma and company went to college it was horrendous. There’s also the general issue that the show doesn’t seem to do very well when it’s set away from the actual school and the normal hangouts (ex: Paris in 13A). I would actually like to see some post-high-school appearances from graduated characters, but in a limited fashion so that they don’t overstay their welcome. Doing what they’re going with Eli’s dorm life webisodes would be a great way to do that, even if it didn’t connect to anything happening on the actual show.

Have a same sex couple parents and the child is found with it but child boy friend parents doesn’t approve

Have Imgoen and Becky be a couple and Becky parents have problem with it because of their religion

Have a same sex couple and their children are proud but the children struggle to come out to their parents because of theirs friends doesn’t approve I know this happen my friends are gay and they are raise by two Dads even though they are proud of theirs parents it’s was hard to come out to them because theirs friends didn’t approve and theirs parents didn’t want them go through what they went through even though they are proud of them getting jump spit on called names until his day we have people like that still in this world

I think a good storyline would be a teacher hooking up with a student and getting caught, sexual abuse by someones parent and the student trying to deal with it, maybe a younger sibling cheating with olders siblings boyfreind and them finding out, racial issue going on in the school i got a whole lot of ideas

I’m not good at writing specific ideas But as I watched Degrassi junior high I noticed that the relationships were there but not always the focus. I would like the writers to challenge themselves by not constantly writing about relationships. i mean you had Spike raising her baby and it always would interfere with her life. Michelle dealing with moving out and trying to live out on her own. Wheels loosing his parents and then loosing his foster parents and having to live with his grandma and grandpa and seeing how he deals with it.

I had a simple idea of a group of people go to a party and end up getting drunk, then a character sleeps with their best friends boyfriend and they either fight to tell them or the friend finds out and they get into a fight. Or another idea is a sex addicted character.

It should be real issues we see today a bot of racism dropouts drugs and fights from what I see degrassi needs another school nearby to keep their backs against the wall or some type of neighborhood gang something to wow us again

I think that zig and maya should have more going on in the realtionship department while miles and her are together because he then relizes how zig and maya have this connection and doesnt understand why then she has to tell him the story about cam and his sucicide and how zig had been there and she went through alot . And i think more for the next season that it starts out as clair and drew as a couple and there should be new people and one who is disabled and he wont tell anyone how he got there in his weelchair wat had happened at his old school and be more a my sterious and zoe would start to fall for him and she shows how she is a good person but the mysterious disabled guy his story on how.he got in the weelchair was he was bullied and beat up every day and couldnt take ot anymore so he tryed to commit sucicde by driving off a bridge but all he did was paralyze his body from the waste down and wanted a new start so they move and he started to go to degrassi.

i actually auditioned for season 14 rania’s part but i’m not gonna lie when i auditioned for her part i wasn’t satisfied because the character’s not really suitable for me or appropriate cause she makes out and stuff .a little background of myself i am a 21 year Muslim Somali Canadian girl(yes i wear the scarf and i am proud ).i was born in Toronto but moved alot when i was seven I’ve been to Somalia Dubai and Egypt Greece Vancouver and now i live in Edmonton .i studied a bit of banking and administration courses but i realized that acting is what i see myself doing..there’s not alot of opportunities here in Canada but degrassi is definitely a great opportunity .im a huge fan but i must admit im disappointed that majority of main characters are white (have nothing against white people) but this is Canada. diverse country. Toronto the most diverse city in the world.yet most most characters are white not to mention it’s the same drama cycle over and over again.love triangle ,cheating etc sex,drugs.we dont all have sex and do drugs.cant there be other story lines like mental illness issues or find your real parents or struggling ith overcoming shyness or a i dont know a Muslim female role character

i actually auditioned for season 14 rania’s part but i’m not gonna lie when i auditioned for her part i wasn’t satisfied because the character’s not really suitable for me or appropriate cause she makes out and stuff .a little background of myself i am a 21 year Muslim Somali Canadian girl(yes i wear the scarf and i am proud ).i was born in Toronto but moved alot when i was seven I’ve been to Somalia Dubai and Egypt Greece Vancouver and now i live in Edmonton .i studied a bit of banking and administration courses but i realized that acting is what i see myself doing..there’s not alot of opportunities here in Canada but degrassi is definitely a great opportunity .im a huge fan but i must admit im disappointed that majority of main characters are white (have nothing against white people) but this is Canada. diverse country. Toronto the most diverse city in the world.yet most most characters are white not to mention it’s the same drama cycle over and over again.love triangle ,cheating etc sex,drugs.we dont all have sex and do drugs.cant there be other story lines like mental illness issues or find your real parents or struggling ith overcoming shyness or a i dont know a Muslim female role character

1.) I definitely agree with bringing the old intro back, the new one just doesn’t feel right.
2.) Okay so Becky & Imogen like each other but are “just friends.” Imogen is going to start dating Jaque (the new lesbian girl), & Becky will begin to get very jealous. It could result to Becky being unhappy & depressed (it could be cool to see a different side of Becky). She developes a hate for Jaque & in the end, Becky & Imogen date.

Here is a story line that I recommend a these two girls who are best friends and one of the girl lives with foster parents. Her foster parents are strict and protective of her and she is not allowed to have a cellphone. However, the girl is talking to her biological dad despite not being allowed to see him and has a cell phone that she keeps hidden from her foster parents. Her dad is not around because he is sexually abusive. The girl ends up introducing her father to her best friend and tells her the reason she is not allowed to see her father is because her sister lied and said she hit them. The father ends up building trust with his daughters friend and buys her a cellphone and calls her on it then sexually assaults the girl. The girl is confused and not sure what to do and lets it go the first time it happens again and she finally decides to press charges. This will create anger between the friends and hatred.

bullying/ low self esteem
self harming
anxiety
depression
suicide
school stress with failing courses, the need to achieve high grades, the stress of exams and papers.
family problems, divorce, parent suffers from a disorder or illness, parents are always arguing, putting their kids down, or dealing with financial difficulties.

I would like to see same sex couples parents raising a daughter who is lesbian but she afraid to tell her parents because they faced ignorance and want her to be straight and the daughter has an affair with her teacher which is mutual because the teacher faced the same thing with her parents
Four children living on their own because their mother died and their father abandoned them because he too depressed over their mother death to take care of them but he send money to them

-A character that lives with their grandparents
-A character whose brother is a school drop out
-A parent with a mental illness, such as a mom with schizophrenia
-Best friend dying of an illness (something unrelated to suicide or cancer)
-A character that’s sexually abused by their brother
-A character who’s confused about their sexuality
-A character that’s smart but gets in a lot of trouble in school
-Another character that plays an instrument
-A girl character that’s really good at sports
-Someone with anxiety, for example panic attacks, social anxiety, or OCD
-A character that self harms in a way besides burning or cutting
-A vegan or vegetarian character
-Someone with a friend that gets an abortion & even though they’re supportive it impacts them
-Someone with a half brother they’ve never met